Five hundred security cameras will be installed in eastern Jerusalem, at a cost of more than 100 million shekels. The cameras will be placed in neighborhoods to the east of Bar-Lev Road, from French Hill in the north to Har Homa in the south, according to Voice of Israel public radio.
The project will take three years to complete.
Police said Thursday that the cameras are intended to increase “the feeling of security” of Jerusalem residents and visitors.
Jewish residents of Jerusalem suffered from 157 separate terror-related incidents in March, IDF Radio revealed Sunday, in a record upswing in attacks from Palestinian Arab terrorists.
Terror attacks against Jewish Israelis have been on the rise in Jerusalem, which saw 150 such incidents in February and 140 in January. On an average month, Palestinian Arabs attack a Jewish Israeli 2.5 times per day; the number of attacks per month has not dipped below 80 since November 2012.
The attack rate is highest near Jewish holy sites, the survey shows, including the City of David near Silwan, Jerusalem's Old City, and the Mount of Olives. 80% of attacks involve the throwing of rocks and firebombs; some cause serious injury or death.
An incident of cemetery vandalism at the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery in Jerusalem was documented on video on November 29, 2011. The Arab perpetrator, who was consequently found guilty due to the video evidence, was sentenced to three months in prison for his crime. He admitted that he received NIS 1,000 to commit his acts of cemetery desecration.
A mother and daughter from Jerusalem filed a lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority (PA) this week, demanding 6 million shekels in compensation for physical and emotional damages they suffered in a terror attack in late 2012.
TV Channel 2's website, Mako, reported that the attack took place on the last day of the IDF's eight-day counterterror action in Gaza, Operation Pillar of Defense, which was mounted in the second half of November, 2012. The mother and daughter were driving on Jerusalem's Tunnel Road, and were ambushed as they passed through the Arab village of Husan.
A rock crashed through the windshield, hitting the mother's face and leaving her critically wounded.
According to the lawsuit, the daughter, who was not directly hit by the rocks, “was left alone for 26 minutes, that seemed like an eternity, as she blocked the mother's bleeding and prayed that she was still alive. The terrorists returned to their village, cheering joyously.”
During this time, the daughter was “crying out desperately, praying that her mother is still alive and blocking her mother's head to prevent loss of blood, until IDF soldiers arrived on the scene."